Seminar in Zen and Pure Land Buddhism. The First Meeting. How many of us can keep pondering one question all the time

Seminar in Zen and Pure Land Buddhism

By Dr. Yutang Lin

A Lecture Sponsored by the Department of Religion Washington & Lee University Lexington, Virginia May 13 and 15, 1991

The First Meeting

Professor Rogers: In January 1991, in Kathmandu, the capital of the mountain Kingdom of Nepal, we met at a place called the Vajra Hotel. Those of you who have studied Buddhist tradition know that vajra means a thunderbolt vehicle, which is the third of the great vehicles in Buddhism. The Hinayana, a smaller or lesser vehicle; the Mahayana, the great vehicle; and then either the Vajrayâna, the thunderbolt vehicle or the Tantra-yana, the Tantric path, which characterizes Tibetan Buddhism. Vajrayâna also came to China and then to Japan as the great Shingon, the True Word or Mantra Sect of Buddhism. So, we met in this Buddhist setting; the hotel run by Tibetan Buddhist.

Out of the group that traveled to the Buddhist holy sites in Nepal and India, there were many interesting people: two physicians, a clinical psychologist, an ACLU lawyer, someone who had done a lot of tracking in the Himalayas, an artist and a professor of philosophy. When you meet a new group of people there is a kind of chemistry that goes on, and you try to figure out how to fit in with the group that you will be with for three to four weeks.

I guess gradually it was Dr. Lin that I was struck by as someone who really knew what he was doing. The rest of us knew a little about Buddhist tradition and a little about what people do on a pilgrimage; but from the very beginning, Dr. Lin seemed to be very connected, devoted, purposeful, and focused. So, out of a sort of Southern hospitality, I said, "Oh, you have to come to Washington and Lee University to see us sometime." That was about it. But after I came back here I said to myself, "It would be really great if he could come," and he has come. We will be with him this morning and tomorrow night, his lecture at eight o’clock, and again on Wednesday. He has read all the questions that each one of us put together anticipating his visit. So here is Dr. Lin!

Dr. Lin: I have read your questions and they are very good. You have so many questions and we have so little time, therefore, I will first give a short talk hoping that some of your questions will be resolved by it. After the talk we will discuss whatever questions you might have then.

First of all, I would like to emphasize that what Buddha tried to explain to us is not just theory, not just certain views that he tried to persuade us to have. He tried to convey an experience which was the result of his pursuit of how to solve the problems of life, death, sickness, old age and suffering in the world. The solution he found was an experience, which was direct and intuitive, but too difficult to express. Therefore, at first, he was going to remain silent about it, but then, out of his compassion, he began to teach people on the problems of life and their solutions.

Over the years Buddhism has spread to different people in different localities. In order for different people to understand the essence of Buddha’s teachings, it is presented more or less differently in various localities. Consequently, many systems of thoughts have developed within Buddhism, and Buddhism has become manifold. It has thus become rather difficult for us to get to the quintessence of Buddha’s teachings. Nevertheless, I think the easiest way to understand Buddha’s teachings is to try to look directly at the experience that he tried to communicate to us. That experience, in simple terms, is his realization of his oneness with the whole universe; and it is a Limitless-Oneness.

People might ask, "How can there be such a Oneness with wars going on in the world?" Usually I answer this question by offering some examples of my personal supernatural experiences. Since the questions raised by this class are far deeper, I will even try to explain the very experience that Buddha realized. Although it is not my own experience, fortunately, my late teacher, Yogi C. M. Chen, did attain the experience of Limitless-Oneness and revealed it to me. He also told about that experience in his books.

In that experience, everything, including one’s own body, disappears. There is nothing left, except the light of blue sky everywhere